Delta State University is gearing up for the 20th annual Sammy O. Cranford Memorial History Lecture on April 6 at 7 p.m. in Jobe Hall Auditorium.

The 2017 lecturer is Dr. Calvin White Jr., associate professor of history and chair of the history department at the University of Arkansas. White’s talk is entitled, “Standing at the Vanguard: Oscar Stanton De Priest, A Black Congressmen Amongst White Segregationists.”

The Cranford Lecture is sponsored by the Delta State Division of Social Sciences and History and is supported by a generous grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council. The DSU Quality Enhancement Plan is also providing support for the lecture, which honors the life of Dr. Sammy Orren Cranford, longtime history professor and archivist at Delta State. The event is free and open to the public.

White is a native of Stuttgart, Arkansas, and earned his doctorate in history from the University of Mississippi. He is the author of “The Rise to Respectability: Race, Religion, and the Church of God in Christ,” published in 2012 by the University of Arkansas Press.

“We are thrilled to have Dr. White deliver this year’s Cranford Lecture,” said Dr. Charles Westmoreland, Jr., Delta State assistant professor of history and coordinator of the Cranford Lecture. “He is a leading scholar in the fields of African American and southern religious history. His book on the Church of God in Christ provides tremendous insight into the connections between race, religion, and class in the Mississippi and Arkansas Delta.”

White’s current project and subject for this year’s lecture is Oscar De Priest, a civil rights advocate from Chicago and U.S. Representative from 1929-1935. According to Westmoreland, White’s lecture will explore Congressman De Priest’s story and the myriad ways race intersected with local and national politics in the age of Jim Crow.

“It will be a great time for learning and honoring Dr. Sammy Cranford, one of Delta State’s most distinguished faculty members,” said Westmoreland. “For 20 years, the Cranford Lecture has been a signature event at Delta State. We have been fortunate to feature many great historians and speakers over the years, and 2017 will be no exception.”

Delta State’s Robert E. Smith School of Nursing continues to rank high in national polls. RESSON recently came in at No. 2 on NursePractitionerSchools.com‘s list of Top 10 of Most Affordable Online DNP-NP Programs.

The Delta State University Staff Council recently honored Margaret Katembe, acquisitions and accounting coordinator for the university library, as the February 2017 Employee of the Month.

Katembe, a native of Kenya, has been working in the library since 2013.

“Thank you for nominating me as Employee of the Month,” said Katembe. “Working in the library is a team effort environment, and it makes it such a wonderful place to work. It is extra special to be honored and appreciated in such a manner. I know we all work hard in our areas, and I appreciate my colleagues and members of the Staff Council for this nomination.”

Katembe is a two-time graduate of Delta State with a bachelor’s and master’s of business administration.

Her husband, Dr. William Katembe, is an associate professor of biology at Delta State. The couple has three children who attend the Cleveland School District.

Each Employee of the Month winner receives a plaque, monetary award, an engraved insulated coffee mug, a free parking decal courtesy of the campus police department, a box of treats from The Sweetery, a parking spot of their choice, marquee announcement and website recognition.

Delta State’s Staff Council serves as a liaison between the administration and the staff to provide a formal process for staff to discuss issues involving university policies and procedures and to forward ideas, recommendations and opinions to the president.

Most Beautiful 2017, Leah Green.

Delta State University held its annual Most Beautiful Pageant on Feb. 16 at the Bologna Performing Arts Center. Recognition was given to Most Beautiful, Most Photogenic, Four Beauties and Top 10. A total of 29 girls competed for the title.

“We had another great competition this year,” said Bevin Lamb, executive director of pageants. “We had 29 girls compete, and we appreciate everyone from the campus and community who came to support them.”

The pageant was sponsored by the Delta State University Student Government Association and produced by the Pageant Board, a Delta State student organization.

This year’s conference, “Winning the Race: Advancing Education in the Mississippi Delta,” is presented in partnership with the Casey Family Programs and the Mississippi Humanities Council and will focus on identifying educational inequities and strengthening educational opportunities in the Mississippi Delta.

The inaugural program, spearheaded by Delta State President William N. LaForge in 2014, was designed as an innovative academic conference with a focus on engaging, promoting and rekindling conversations in hopes that Delta-area communities can move toward greater equity, forward thinking and reduced racial tensions.

“I am very much looking forward to another outstanding race relations conference, with a program I’m advised will be top flight,” said LaForge. “From the special speakers, breakout sessions and general discussion topics, this conference promises to be another great success.”

“While our conference is not conducted in reaction to anything in the current political climate, it certainly comes at an appropriate time to contribute to the national, regional and local dialogue on how we get along in society,” added LaForge.

In recognition of this work, the university received the 2014 Civil Rights and Social Justice Award accepted by LaForge at the fourth National Civil Rights Conference in Philadelphia, Mississippi.

The 2017 schedule will continue the critical dialogue about current issues related to education, social justice and community healing, while highlighting opportunities for sustained community action, awareness and mobility.

“This year’s conference will provide attendees with the tools to engage in not only the dialogue, but the work of strengthening the educational community and infrastructure in and around the Mississippi Delta,” said Dr. Temika M. Simmons, assistant professor of psychology and conference chair. “Unique to the 2017 platform are opportunities for professional development credits for teachers and counselors, in addition to a special workshop track for high school students — further evidence of the university’s commitment to moving the conference initiative beyond the current dialogue to tangible action and outcomes.”

Highlight speakers for the 2017 conference include Dr. Ivory Toldson, president and CEO of the Quality Education for Minorities Network, and Dr. William C. Bell, a Delta State graduate and president and CEO of Casey Family Programs.

Toldson is a professor of counseling psychology at Howard University and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Negro Education. Toldson’s previous appointments include executive director of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, senior research analyst for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and contributing education editor for The Root.

With more than 60 publications, four books, and over 150 research presentations in 36 states and numerous countries, Toldson’s work and research have focused on dismantling some of the most pervasive myths about African Americans. Instead, he highlights the talent and potential of students of color. Toldson has been featured on MSNBC, The New York Times, various radio stations, and has been dubbed one of “30 leaders in the fight for Black men,” by Newsweek Magazine. Former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said he is “a prolific young scholar and myth buster.”

William C. Bell, president and CEO of Casey Family Programs, is returning for another highly anticipated speech. With more than 35 years of experience in the field of human services, Bell chairs the executive team for CFP and is responsible for the vision, mission, strategies and objectives of the foundation.

Bell’s awards include Special Contribution to the Judiciary Award from the King County Washington Women Lawyers (2016), the Orgullo de la Comunidad (Pride of our Community) Award from the Coalition for Hispanic Family Services (2015), and the 2014 James A. Joseph Lecturer for The Association of Black Foundation Executives.

Additionally, he was named Delta State’s 2012 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year and was inducted into the university’s Alumni Hall of Fame and the Omicron Delta Kappa national leadership honor society.

Bell is nationally renowned for his contributions and lifelong commitment to improving the lives of children and families, his tireless work to prevent child abuse and neglect, his fight to make the judicial system more accessible to all, and his battle to improve the lives of children in foster care.

In addition to stellar speakers, conference breakout sessions will feature topics covering social justice, civil rights and law, economic opportunities, education and community, and culture and community. These sessions will be guided by leaders from around the state and nation.

Other featured activities include poster competitions for high school and college students, and performances by the ROOTS of Sunflower County and the Delta Blues Museum Band.

The university will kick off this year’s conference with an open house on March 26 from 2-6 p.m. at the Amzie Moore House Museum and Interpretive Center located at 614 South Chrisman Avenue in Cleveland. A press conference honoring the work of Mississippi civil rights veterans will take place at the house at 3 p.m.

Conference activities will begin on campus at 8 a.m. on March 27 in the Bologna Performing Arts Center at Delta State.